YELLE has spent this fall traveling the globe from Europe to Australia to South American, and so on… in celebration of their infectious sophomore release, Safari Disco Club. We caught up with the Electro Pop frontwoman Julie Budet before the trio’s sold out performance at Brooklyn’s Williamsburg Music Hall for a few words.

FAULT: Bonjour! How’s the tour going?

Julie Budet: We’re really happy about how the tours going. Its been fun and we’ve met lots of people, visited lots of countries… It’s good.

FAULT: You have just a couple shows left, with a finale in Paris. Are you excited to finish?

Julie Budet: Yes, I’m really happy. Tonight the show is sold out and it’s sold out in Paris, too.

FAULT:In the beginning of your career, people we’re always a bit fascinated by the idea that you had such a massive audience, but only sang in French. Do you feel that people are still going on about this, or has it just become accepted?

Julie Budet: People are still enjoying both the old songs and news songs… I still think they don’t really care if they don’t understand you. It’s just, like, the energy and the mood. Lots of people are telling me they took some French lessons to help understand, which is really funny. I just think it’s more about vibe and communication and I think the live show really helped us get this connection with people and I express a lot of the lyrics with my body.

FAULT: Your shows are pretty much a big dance party. How do you do that night after night and not get exhausted?

Julie Budet: I’m not going out after. I’m not drinking. I’m not taking drugs… It is, like, really boring (laughs). It’s the only solution to stay healthy and keep this level of energy because, yeah, it’s really intense every night.

FAULT: You, Grand Marnier and Tepr all have different musical backgrounds. What was yours before beginning YELLE?

Julie Budet: I grew up with lots of different styles of music, and my father was a French musician. We were listening to Rock and Roll, Pop bands, Classic Music and Blues… And, I was listening to lots of Rap and mainstream music. A mix of everything. I’m still listening to different styles of music now today.

FAULT: Who are you listening to now that you really like?

Julie Budet: I’m a big big fan of Warpaint. I saw them at Coachella… It was prefect. A really intense moment.

FAULT: Speaking of Coachella, you met Katy Perry there and that turned into a big thing. You ended up opening for her in the U.K. You’ve mentioned that the English audience is a little bit unique…

Julie Budet: Yeah, because, you know, the English people just listen to English music. Like in the U.S., you listen to Spanish and other music, but the English they have a really good scene so they don’t really care about the others, particularly from France. So it was quite a challenge for us to play every night in front of… I don’t know, tens of thousands of people. You know? But, they were really nice and open-minded in the end.

FAULT: Katy Perry, like most American pop stars, comes with that “visual packaging.” It becomes a huge brand. YELLE, on a cooler level, is very into visual—from shows to videos to album artwork, etc. Do you all collaborate on the visual aspects as well?

Julie Budet: Most of the time it comes from the brain of Grand Marnier [main producer and percussionist] because he likes to think about the aesthetics. It’s important for us to have control on our image. We just launched our label and it was important because we wanted to decide and have the choice, and if we make mistakes, it’s our fault, it’s ok. It’s not a problem!

FAULT: You recently did an acting debut… Is film something you are going to be getting into more?

Julie Budet: Yes, I just did a short film. It was a great experience and I received some prizes, so I was like okay cool. And actually, I’m going to be shooting a little scene in a long film coming up soon. I’d love to act more because I really loved it, but it’s important to find a good project with good people and good roles.

FAULT: Now… You’re a bit of a fashion icon!

Julie Budet: (Laughs.) It’s always funny for me to hear that because sometimes I’m just dressed like… nothing.

FAULT: What would you say is your personal style?

Julie Budet: I don’t know? I guess it’s a mix between old, vintage clothing and new designers, such as Jean-Paul Lespagnard, the guy who did all the outfits on the cover of the album. I love him. And I enjoy collaborating with designers, because sometimes, there’s just a connection, you know? I like to mix bright colors a lot, except right now I’m wearing all black…

FAULT: Well, you are in New York.

Julie Budet: (Laughs). And it’s cold!

FAULT: So what’s next after the tour?

Julie Budet: We’re going to have holiday with family and friends, be off for two months and then start to work on new songs. I don’t know what will happen, we just want to take the time to be in the studio and do new stuff.

FAULT: What is your FAULT?

Julie Budet: That’s hard to answer… I don’t know. I love candy a lot. It’s probably really bad for my teeth, my stomach… and, my ass.

Interview by Rachel Eleanor Sutton/Photographs by Tescia Deak